Carlos Azeredo Mesquita

Watch a one hour video selection

The Complete National Anthems of the World

Performance

2023

Shows

Sismógrafo, Porto

December 16–17, 2023

Teatro Municipal do Porto

January 25–26, 2025

Ponto C, Penafiel, PT

February 21–12, 2026 (upcoming)

In the performance The Complete National Anthems of the World I want to highlight how anthems – which all claim each nation is very unique – are in fact very identical and follow and conform to a Western model and to explore dynamics of inclusion and exclusion, cultural hegemony and colonialism about the modern nation-state.

The show is nearly 12-hours-long (split over two days), during which close to 300 acapella recordings of national anthems are played, encompassing people singing at street protests, sporting events, or children at school. It includes the anthem of every state recognized by the United Nations, as well as the anthems of independence movements, breakaway states, autonomous regions, international organisations, or defunct states.

The Complete National Anthems of the World is performed by four brass musicians from a philharmonic band who march non-stop and improvise sounds, always in a group of three while taking turns. The music is subtitled in real time, both in the original language and in English.

The performance is accompanied by a libretto with information and context, printed on a very long receipt. The anthems are organised by thematic groups: for example, anthems composed by women (4), with the same melody as another country (39), or folk music chosen by colonisers (many in Africa). For parallel reading, there are interviews with people from different backgrounds, nationalities, and jobs – politicians, diplomats, exiles, activists, professional athletes – about their relationship and experiences with anthems. These materials, still under development, will later become a book.

During the performance there is free food and drinks for the audience, that for every 20 minutes watching the show gets to draw a prize from a raffle. The food prizes, however, reflect the power of the world’s passports according to the Passport Index, and, therefore, range from water and bread with margarine, bag-in-box wine, to vintage Port wine, gourmet cheeses, and prawns for the few lucky ones.

The show premiered at the end of 2023, in the context of a worldwide rise of military tensions, the aftermath of the pandemic, and renewed nationalisms. It wants to be an emotional and aesthetic experience with a certain hypnotic quality that, through the rawness of group singing and collective movement, evokes feelings of identification and belonging usually felt when taking part in public ceremonies and demonstrations, or sports and school events. These feelings get confronted with a cerebral journey through history, musicology, anthropology, and sociology that wants to shed light on how the “natural” existence of national identities and symbols as we know them is highly constructed and pretty recent.

Artistic direction, choreography, research, libretto, and interviews

Carlos Azeredo Mesquita

Musical direction and composition, and dramaturgical support

Luís Pestana

Musical and choreographic co-creation and interpretation

Trombone

Diogo Andrade

Euphonium

Inês Luzio

Trumpet

Nelson Ferreira

Trombone

Tiago Noites

Support and dramaturgy

Yasmina Reggad

Dramaturgical support and external eye

Catarina Miranda

Support for the libretto

Isabel Duarte

Graphic design

Macedo Cannatà

Proofreading of the libretto

Vanessa Gomes da Costa

Costumes design

Nuno Maio

Costumes execution

Florinda Dias

Support to the interviews

Mariana Duarte

Sound design and operation

Ricardo Cabral

Subtitles programming

Marcelo Reis

Executive producer

Mariana Lima Costa/Calote Esférica

Produced by

Calote Esférica

Co‐produced by

Sismógrafo

Funded by

DGArtes – Direcção-Geral das Artes/República Portuguesa

Supported by

Campus Paulo Cunha e Silva/Teatro Municipal do Porto

TUP – Teatro Universitário do Porto

A PiSCiNA

Acknowledgements

Miguel Ramos/Confederação

Cristina Planas Leitão/Bactéria

Circolando

Sismógrafo’s team

and Isabel Duarte, Maria João Macedo, Mariana Duarte, Catarina Miranda, Gustavo Briz, Joana Pestana, Vanessa Gomes da Costa, Lendl Barcelos, João Oliveira, Gustavo Costa, Andrés Sarabia, Ashot Sarkissjan, Uriel Orlow, Mikhail Karikis, André Lamelas, Paul Oomen, Rodrigo Camacho, Sara Rodrigues, Luís Fernandes, Raquel Castro, Gábor Halmai, Henry Andersen, Michael Pereira, Benjamin Bollen, Inês Luzio, Rui Bandeira, André Rocha, Ricardo Antão

Duration

12 hours approx., split over two days